Finca La Igriega

Convivium Brands LLC owner Steve Seltzer was walking by the display case at the rotunda in the JW Marriott in Grande Lakes, Orlando, Florida on a recent Wednesday night when one of his suppliers pointed to the case and said, "Isn't that one of your German wines?". It was: the Tina Pfaffmann Riesling Feinherb, which won Double Gold and Best in Show: Riesling at the recent WSWA convention.

Tina Pffamann's decorated wines

But even more of a surprise was the stack of manila envelopes awaiting the suppliers at their table that Thursday morning: a total of 9 silver medals, 3 gold, 1 double gold and 1 best in show.

Medals were awarded by a distinguished panel of 18 tasting judges representing the buyer's, educators, suppliers and distributor's point of view. The tasting was organized by region, grape varietal, and appellation, Each group of judges tasted a selection of the wines blind and voted on their rankings. Highest-ranked wines were then tasted by the other groups, and all votes were gathered to determine the double-gold and Best In Show wines.